Active Essex is Here!

There are some changes on the horizon for our organisation as we are changing our name to Active Essex by the end of the month.

You may be aware that during 2011 we conducted a consultation with the help of sport consultants Continuum Sport & Leisure.  After the coming together last year of the sportessex, PE & school sport and the Essex 2012 legacy team under one Director Jason Fergus, the consultation was to help us ascertain with partners on what the vision, purpose, function, and governance of the new Partnership should be moving forward, The final report sought to obtain support for the implementation of the recommendations for phase 2, and these were accepted and agreed by the Executive Board.

In short this means that we will have changed our name to 'Active Essex' by the end of  February and with our partners we will aim to create a more physically active and sporting environment for all people in Greater Essex to increase participation.

We will issue regular communications to keep you updated with the latest developments, in our new section the David East blog.  For now make sure you visit us on Facebook or Twitter - @ActiveEssex and even sign up to our newsletters as there is lots coming up in this fantistic 2012 Olympic and Paralympic year, you really don't want to miss out!

ESSEX HOSTS ITS FIRST SPORTMAKERS WORKSHOP AFTER SUCCESFUL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

In October County Hall was brought to a standstill as Sportessex, the County Sports Partnership in Essex, launched the nationwide SportMakers scheme across the county, by ‘flashmobbing’ County Hall.

View the Video Here>>> 

Since the launch, the video has gained over 2,000 views on Youtube and enough interest to begin running the first of its SportMakers workshops.

Today Essex County Council announces the first workshop, being held at The University of Essex on 2nd February, where over 150 University students and faculty are expected to attend.

Sportessex will be hosting a number of these informal and interactive workshops, where attendees will gain the skills to encourage others to get involved in sport.  SportMakers will also be invited to work with organisations that need their help, and join forces with other SportMakers who want to make sport happen locally.

There’ll also be opportunities for SportMakers to meet top athletes and plenty of other incentives to stay involved.

Councillor Stephen Castle, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and the 2012 Games and Sport England’s Regional Sporting Champion for the East of England, commented, ‘The FlashMob was such an inspiring way to launch SportMakers here in Essex! SportMakers is a fantastic scheme which will encourage more people across the county to get involved in sport. These workshops will hopefully highlight how anyone can be inspired by the London 2012 Games and that anyone can be a SportMaker, simply by encouraging others to get involved in sport.  I urge the people of Essex to join in and come and attend one of our workshops’.

Sport Makers is part of the Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country.  It aims to inspire 1400 people across the county to get involved in sport, with each of them simply spending 10 hours of their time organising or leading sporting activities in their community or workplace.

Hayley Pegg, from Southend West School Partnership who has recently signed up to SportMakers commented ‘I have always loved sport and this is a perfect way for me to encourage others to get involved, get active and be inspired to take up a new activity. I can not wait to get started and I really feel these workshops will help me learn the essential skills I need to influence people and make a difference’.

To find out more about becoming a SportMaker visit www.sportmakers.co.uk or to see what sport you can get involved in across the county visit  our Sport Makers Page.

Be part of the Essex Jailbreak 2012

The Essex Jailbreak on Saturday 21st April is a fun race against time to raise money for charity.

Teams are locked into Chelmsford Prison for 5 minutes before the doors are opened at 9am, when they must compete to get as far away as possible in 15 hours, without spending any money or breaking the law!

The event has been running for over 20 years and is a lot of fun - people have gone a very long way (including Copenhagen, Italy and Burma) by some very strange means (including running round in circles with a hospital bed) and wearing some very silly fancy dress (including prison garb and flying pigs)!

At midnight, teams must get someone sensible to confirm their destination (one team went as far as to get 'arrested' by friendly Swedish policemen to prove where they were!).

This year, since it's on the Queen's actual birthday, our first team has signed up with plans to cycle to Buckingham Palace to deliver a birthday card! How far will YOU go?

Sign your team up now at www.essexjailbreak.com and start planning your great escape!

Monies raised by teams are split 50/50 between Essex Boys and Girls Clubs and the team's favourite charity. 

February Sport Makers Workshops Now Online

Funded by Sport England the Sport Makers programme will recruit, train and deploy 40,000 new sports volunteers aged 16 years and over to organise and lead community sporting activities across the country.

Want to know what's going on at the Olympics & Paralympics?

We have all the latest key dates and milestones for the Olympics and Paralympics.  To keep up to date simply visit our London2012 section below.

90,000 reasons to try sport in Essex

ESSEX GIVEN £90,000 TO GET THE COUNTY ACTIVE THROUGH THE NATIONAL ‘SPORTIVATE’ PROGRAMME
 

Sport England’s  ‘Places, People, Play’ strategy for Olympic Legacy is delivering £90,000 of funding for Sportivate activities in Essex during the summer of 2012, just as Olympic fever reaches it’s peak.

 

Sportivate, is a national programme to inspire more young people between the ages of 14-25 to get active using the inspiring power of the Olympics and the passion of local enthusiasts. In light of this funding announcement Sportessex, the County Sports Partnership in Essex, is looking for sports clubs, coaches, instructors and activity leaders, to apply for funding to stage six taster sessions, between April and September 2012, to inspire young people to gain a passion for a new sport or activity.

Councillor Stephen Castle, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the 2012 Games commented, ‘As a Host County we are determined to make the most of The Olympics coming to the UK and Essex. What better inspiration is there to get more young people active in Essex than the Olympics? I urge local sports clubs and coaches to apply for funding and get the youth in their community active. The range of activities is not limited to Olympic sports so there really is an opportunity for everyone to try something new’.
 
Local coaches and sports clubs can apply for funding through sportessex, to help stage their own activities during the summer of 2012. Applications for this round of funding closes on 16th January 2012. Log onto http://sportessex.com/content_nboard.php?page=Sportivate for more details on how to apply and how you can utilise the power of the Olympics to influence the future of sport!

Sportessex is changing..

Active Essex is coming soon...

Details will appear over the coming weeks....

And the winners are!!!

What a wonderful evening was had last night at the sixth Essex Sports Awards and Team Essex Ambassador's Awards.

Broadcast live on BBC Essex, over 200 people attended this fantastic event at the Colchester United Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The event celebrated the very best in sport in Essex as well as the hero's who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that athletes of all abilities can take part in the sport they love.

We will have some superb photographs and film footage up online in the next few days but for now the winners last night were.

School of the Year
William de Ferrers


Coach of the Year
John Horrigan


Young Community Volunteer
Louise Pannell


Community Club of Year
Witham Cricket Club


Young Sports Personality
Joshua Olawore


Disabled Sports Personality
Hannah Stodel


Unsung Hero
Dawn Barnard


Sports Personality of the Year
James Huckle


Team Essex Ambassadors Awards

James Shane
Athletics

Dan Bentley
Boccia

Fiona Pennie
Canoe Slalom

Alex Dowsett
Cycling

Laura Trott
Cycling

Chrystall Nicholl
Fencing

Chloe Rogers
Hockey

Faith Pitman
Judo

Adam Alderman
Disability Power Lifting

Saskia Clark
Sailing

Hannah Stodel
Paralympic Sailing

James Huckle
Shooting

Roberto Pavoni
Swimming

Emma Hollis
Disability Swimming

We will be back soon with the photos and film of the night, well done to all the winners and a big thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting the event and making it possible to celebrate the talented atheletes in Essex.

Essex Sports Awards 2011 Video

See what's coming next Wednesday at the Essex Sports Awards


sportessexTV

Olympic Torch coming to Essex

A different town and city of the UK will welcome the Olympic Flame every evening of the Torch Relay.

All of the 1,018 communities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay have now been announced.
The torch will visit

Colchester
Hatfield Peverel
Heybridge
Maldon
Rayleigh
Southend-on-Sea
Hadleigh
Basildon
Grays
Herongate
Brentwood

Finishing with a special Chelmsford (Evening celebration)

Read All About Our Nominees

We have been adding the profiles for the nominees in the Sports Awards. The shortlisted nominees for the Essex Sports Awards have been announced! To find out if your sporting heroes have been chosen, click here to go to our Sports Awards page.